Piyasvasti schedules major gasohol meet
Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand will next week meet with auto-makers, refineries, oil retailers and ethanol producers to discuss the scheduled end of 95-octane gasoline sales next year before deciding on whether to move to gasohol exclusively.
Deputy Energy permanent secretary Pornchai Rujiprapha said yesterday that Piyasvasti wanted to clarify issues involving the ban and gasohol promotion, particularly complaints that older cars have trouble running on gasohol. "He wants to hear from carmakers on the compatibility of gasohol with new cars, old cars manufactured before 1995, and those with carburettors," Pornchai said. Refineries and retailers are also expected to clarify possible problems in producing enough 95 gasohol, after 95-octane petrol is totally banned, as well as in pricing. Many parties are worried that owners of cars that are now fuelled by 95-octane petrol will be inconvenienced, and that domestic ethanol output will not be enough to substitute for MTBE - the chemical mixed with petrol at the ratio of 10:90 to produce 95-octane petrol. The Energy Ministry's latest information shows that International Gasohol Co Ltd and Petrogreen Co Ltd would have the first two ethanol plants to commence operations, in December, with daily capacity of 150,000 litres and 200,000 litres a day, respectively. Other plants - Ekarat Pattana Co Ltd with a 100,000-litre capacity, Fa Kwanthip Co Ltd with a 60,000-litre capacity, and Thai Ethanol Co Ltd with capacity of 100,000 litres - should come online in February. If 95-octane petrol disappears from the market as originally planned on January 1, the country will need at least 800,000 litres of ethanol per day to produce gasohol, against the existing capacity of 400,000 litres. Combined with the capacity from the two new plants of 350,000 litres, output would reach only 750,000, leaving a domestic supply gap. Pornchai said that due to the deficiency, the minister was expected to delay implementation of the ban to February or March when more ethanol becomes available from local sources. "Though the deadline could be postponed, the ban would affect refineries' operations as they would need to cancel imports of MTBE and replace the chemical with ethanol. We should thus ban 95-octane sales when we are ready on all fronts," Pornchai added.
Energy Reporters The Nation
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